S163: EFFICACY OF JAK 1/2 INHIBITION IN MURINE IMMUNE BONE MARROW FAILURE
Authors: E. Groarke, X. Feng, N. Aggarwal, A. L. Manley, Z. Wu, S. Gao, B. Patel, J. Chen, N. Young
Journal: HemaSphere (2022)

Background: Immune aplastic anemia (AA) is a severe blood disorder characterized by cytotoxic T-lymphocyte mediated stem cell destruction. Therapies including hematopoietic stem cell transplant and immunosuppression are effective but entail costs and risks, and are not effective or possible in all patients. The Janus Kinase (JAK) 1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib (RUX) suppresses cytotoxic T cell activation and inhibits production of interferon gamma and tumor necrosis factor alpha in models of graft-versus-host disease. Aims: Assess RUX in murine immune AA for potential therapeutic benefit. Methods: In a murine major histocompatibility complex mismatched C67BL/6(B6) to CByB6F1 lymph node (LN) cell infusion AA model, and a C.B10 minor histocompatibility antigen mismatched B6 to C.B10 LN cell infusion AA model, RUX was administered as a food additive (Rux-chow), which achieves therapeutic levels in 48-72 hours after administration. Control BMF mice received chow without RUX. Animals were fed with Rux-chow two days before LN cell infusion as a prophylaxis (BMF+RUXD-2), or two days after LN cell infusion as therapy (BMF+RUXD+2). Recipient mice were either bled and euthanized at day 14 following LN infusion to collect tissues or were kept for 56 days to record animal survival. Blood counts were measured biweekly. Samples for flow cytometry, histology, and gene expression assays were collected. Results: In both AA murine models, RUX attenuated bone marrow hypoplasia, ameliorated peripheral blood pancytopenia, and prevented mortality when used either prophylactically or therapeutically. Treated mice had significantly higher blood counts (neutrophils, red blood cells, hemoglobin, platelets) as well as bone marrow (BM) and RBM (residual BM, excluding T-cells), and cellularity relative to control BMF mice. RUX suppressed infiltration, proliferation and activation of effector T cells in the bone marrow and mitigated Fas-mediated apoptotic destruction of target hematopoietic cells. All mice who received RUX were alive at 56 days while control BMF mice all died (Figure 1). With the exception of two mice with low RBC at day 56, discontinuing Rux-chow at day 28 or day 42 did not affect animal blood counts measurements, nor survival. Gene expression in mice who received RUX revealed downregulated T cell function and JAK/STAT pathway-related genes (Stat1, Stat3, Stat4, Fas, Ly6a, Infg, Gzmb, Gzma, Gzmk, Infgr1, Il2rb, Il2rg, and Lag3). On network analysis of differentially expressed genes in downregulated pathways, Stat1 and Ifn-g genes were at the center of the network, connecting immune responses and cell cycle pathways. When toxicity was assessed, RUX exerted modest suppression of lymphoid and erythroid hematopoiesis in normal and irradiated CByB6F1 mice, but the drug showed impressive clinical efficacy despite this. Image:Summary/Conclusion: RUX showed striking therapeutic efficacy, improving blood counts and prolonging survival in two different BMF murine models. In patients, clonal T cell expansion and activation, IFN-g and TNF-α upregulation, and Fas mediated cell death, lead to severe BM destruction and the development of AA. Our study demonstrated that JAK 1/2 inhibition with RUX produced its suppressive effects by inhibiting T cell activation, reducing inflammatory cytokine secretion, and limiting FasL/Fas-mediated BM destruction. Given these results, JAK 1/2 inhibition with RUX is an exciting and novel potential therapy for BMF patients based on a well characterized mechanism of action.